Poll Measures Sense of God’s Presence

One-third of U.S. churchgoers say they experience God’s presence at every worship service, another third say they have that experience often and the final third say they have such feelings less frequently, a marketing research company reports.

Men said they had such experiences less often than women did, according to the Ventura-based Barna Research Group.

Researchers found that 68% of churchgoing adults said they always “look forward to worshiping God.” But many have trouble focusing on worship because of other issues on their minds.

“Without giving themselves time to clear their minds and hearts of their daily distractions and other problems, many people attend a worship event but never enter a worshipful frame of mind,” said George Barna, president of the research company.